457 
.15 


IN 

ALEXANDER  GOLDSTEIN 


Ill 


Mi  ft 


I  MUST    STAND    WITH    ANYBODY 
THAT     STANDS    RIGHT;    STAND 
WITH    HIM    WHILE    HE    IS    RIGHT, 
AND    PART   WITH    HIM   WHEN   HE 
GOES    WRONG"  -  ^Abraham   Lincoln 


MR.  &  MRS.  RALPH  EMERSON'S 
PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS 
gf  ^ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 


ROCKFORD,     ILLINOIS 

MCMIX 


cAn  Intimate  View  §f  cAbe  Lincoln 

By  Ralph  Emerson 

ABOUT  sixty  years  ago  I  was,  for  a  time,  inti 
mate  with  Abraham  Lincoln.  People  are  apt 
to  think  of  him  largely  as  a  joking,  story 
telling  man.  When  he  was  alone  with  friends  who  did 
not  expect  a  story  or  a  joke,  he  was  a  very  quiet,  earn 
est,  almost  sad-faced  man.  I  remember  one  afternoon 
when  we  were  strolling  together  after  court,  through 
the  delightful  *  *  Money  Creek  Timber, ' '  I  sought  his 
advice  with  regard  to  my  own  future  life.  It  was 
given  so  quietly  and  earnestly  that  I  soon  after  em 
braced  the  first  opportunity  to  enter  a  business  life. 

So  impressed  was  I  with  his  ability  that  when, 
four  years  later,  we  became  involved  in  a  very  import 
ant  litigation,  we  retained  him  to  help.  I  paid  him 
the  largest  retaining  fee,  he  said,  he  had  ever,  up  to 
that  time,  received.  So  important  was  the  litigation 
that  a  host  of  lawyers  were  engaged  on  each  side,  in 
cluding  such  men  as  Senator  Douglas,  Gov.  Wm.  H. 
Seward,  and  quite  a  number  of  other  lawyer  mem 
bers  of  Congress. 

When  the  case  came  on  for  hearing  in  Cincinnati, 
as  Lincoln  had  not  had  sufficient  time  to  prepare,  he 
did  not  speak,  but  he  was  present  through  the  whole 
hearing,  which  consumed  several  days.  We  were 
limited  to  two  lawyers  on  a  side.  Edwin  M.  Stanton, 
later  the  celebrated  "War  Secretary,"  was  one  of 
those  who  spoke  for  us,  delivering  a  speech  which  he  had 
spent  a  very  long  time  in  studying  up  and  preparing. 
So  intensely  interested  was  Lincoln  in  this  speech, 
that,  forgetting  the  dignity  of  a  United  States  Court, 

*  Page  5 


773156 


LINCOLN  AS  I  FIRST  KNEW  HIM. 


he  stood  rapt  in  attention,  or  else  was  even  walking 
back  and  forth  in  the  court  room  listening  intently. 
It  was  the  first  time  Lincoln  and  Stanton  met,  and 
from  what  Lincoln  said  to  me  when  he  was  President 
I  am  satisfied  that  it  was  that  speech  which  made 
Lincoln  choose  Stanton  as  his  final  Secretary  of  War. 

Let  me  illustrate.  There  was  talk,  at  one  time, 
of  a  compromise  with  the  other  side.  Stanton  was  a 
man,  when  excited,  of  a  lion-like  countenance.  The 
moment  he  heard  the  subject  of  compromise  broached 
in  our  office  he  was  ablaze  at  once;  and  with  gestures 
as  though  he  held  a  sword  in  his  hand,  he  exclaimed: 
'  *  Compromise  !  I  know  of  but  one  way  to  compromise 
with  an  enemy,  and  that  is  with  a  sword  in  your  hand, 
and  to  smite,  and  keep  smiting  !"  And  his  counten 
ance  was  a  blaze  of  wrath  as  he  spoke.  What  won 
der  that  Lincoln,  when  disappointed  in  other  men, 
sent  for  Stanton  as  his  final  Secretary  of  War  ! 

When  the  hearing  was  through,  Mr.  Lincoln 
called  me  to  him  as  we  left  the  court  room  and  wanted 
to  walk  and  talk. 

For  block  after  block  he  walked  rapidly  forward, 
silent  and  deeply  dejected. 

At  last,  turning  to  me,  he  exclaimed :  ' '  Emerson, 
I'm  going  home."  A  pause.  "I  am  going  home  to 
study  law." 

"Why,"  I  exclaimed,  "Mr.  Lincoln  you  stand  at 
the  head  of  the  bar  in  Illinois  now.  What  are  you 
talking  about  ?" 

'  Yes,  yes,"  he  said.  " I  do  occupy  a  good  posi 
tion  there,  and  I  think  I  can  get  along  with  the  way 
things  are  going  there  now.  But  these  college  trained 
men  who  have  devoted  their  whole  lives  to  study  are 
coming  west  don't  you  see  ?  They  study  on  a  single 
case  perhaps  for  months,  as  we  never  do. 

Page  7 


LINCOLN  AS  HE  APPEARED  WHEN  TELLING  A  STORY  TO 
ILLUSTRATE  A  POINT  HE  WISHED  TO  MAKE 


' '  We  are  apt  to  catch  up  the  thing  as  it  goes  be 
fore  a  jury  and  trust  to  the  inspiration  of  the  moment. 
They  have  got  as  far  as  Ohio  now.  They  will  soon  be 
in  Illinois." 

Another  long  pause.  Then  stopping  and  turning 
towards  me,  his  countenance  suddenly  assumed  that 
look  of  strong  determination  which  we  who  knew  him 
best  sometimes  saw  on  his  face,  and  he  exclaimed  : 

"  I'm  going  home  to  study  law  !  I'm  as  good  as 
any  of  them,  and  when  they  get  out  to  Illinois  I  will 
be  ready  for  them. ' ' 

He  finished,  and  at  once  became  very  cheerful, 
as  though  he  now  saw  a  clear  path  before  him. 

We  walked  on  down  by  the  banks  of  the  Ohio 
river.  He  suddenly  turned  and  pointed  across  the 
river  to  Kentucky,  and  said  :  ' '  Here  is  this  fine  city 
of  Cincinnati,  and  over  there  is  the  little  town  of  Cov- 
ington.  Covington  has  just  as  good  a  location  as  Cin 
cinnati,  and  a  fine  country  back  of  it.  It  was  settled 
before  Cincinnati.  Why  is  it  not  a  bigger  city  ?  Just 
because  of  slavery,  and  nothing  else.  My  people  used 
to  live  over  there,  and  I  know.  Why  the  other  day 
I  went  to  ship  my  family  on  a  little  railroad  they  have 
got  down  there  from  Covington  back  into  the  coun 
try.  I  went  to  the  ticket  office  and  found  a  lank  fel 
low  sprawling  over  the  counter,  who  had  to  count  up 
quite  a  while  on  his  fingers  how  much  two  and  one- 
half  fares  would  come  to.  While  over  here  in  Cincin 
nati,  when  I  shove  my  money  through  the  window, 
the  three  tickets  and  the  change  would  come  flying 
back  at  me  quick.  And  it  is  just  the  same  way  in 
all  things  through  Kentucky.  That  is  what  slavery 
does  for  the  white  man." 

We  walked  on  down  the  river  and  the  conversa 
tion  turned  on  a  trip  to  Palestine  and  Jerusalem.  His 
countenance  at  once  lit  up,  and  he  exclaimed,  ''Yes! 

Page  9 


As  LINCOLN  APPEARED  AS  I  LAST  SAW  HIM  IN  THE 

DARKEST    DAYS    OF   THE    WAR 


To  tread  the  ground  the  Saviour  trod  !"  Never  from 
other  human  lips  have  I  heard  the  word  ' '  Saviour ' ' 
pronounced  with  such  depth  of  earnestness.  Appar 
ently  absorbed  with  the  two  thoughts  of  the  evils  of 
slavery,  and  of  the  "Saviour/'  we  wandered  on  in 
silence,  and  so  parted. 

Time  went  on— he  was  President— and  the  war 
came  with  defeat  after  defeat  to  the  Union  armies. 
Such  men  as  Horace  Greeley  were  loudly  calling  for 
peace  at  any  terms  with  our  ' '  erring  sisters,  who 
should  be  allowed  to  depart  in  peace."  Everything 
looked  dark.  Being  in  Washington  with  my  brother, 
Prof.  Emerson  of  Beloit  College,  Judge  Davis  of  the 
Supreme  Court  (one  of  Lincoln's  best  friends),  sug 
gested  that  we  go  and  cheer  "Old  Abe"  up  a  bit.  As 
we  went,  Judge  Davis  said:  "  You  must  expect  him 
to  tell  some  kind  of  a  story.  If  he  could  not  relieve 
his  mind  in  the  darkest  hours  in  this  way,  he  would 
die." 

We  found  Lincoln  sitting  very  sad  and  pensive, 
for  news  had  just  come  in  of  one  of  the  worst  defeats 
of  the  war.  We  told  him  that  we  had  come  to  tell 
him  that  no  matter  how  dark  the  clouds,  and  what 
might  be  said  in  the  east,  the  great  west  was  with  him, 
and  had  absolute  confidence  in  him  and  in  God,  and  that 
we  would  pull  through.  He  looked  up  with  a  sad 
smile  and  then  said  :  * '  Yes,  but  I  am  sometimes  re 
minded  of  Old  Mother  Partington.  You  know  the  old 
lady  lived  on  the  sea  beach,  and  one  time  a  big  storm 
came  up  and  the  waves  began  to  rise  till  the  water 
began  to  come  in  under  her  cabin  door.  She  got  a 
broom  and  went  to  sweeping  it  out.  But  the  water 
rose  higher  and  higher  ;  to  her  knees  ;  to  her  waist ; 
at  last  to  her  chin,  but  she  kept  on  sweeping  and  ex 
claiming,  Til  keep  on  sweeping  as  long  as  the  broom 
lasts,  and  we  will  see  whether  the  storm  or  the 

Page  11 


broom  will  last  the  longest !'  And  that  is  the  way 
with  me."  And  his  jaws  came  together  with  that 
firm  grip  we  who  knew  him  best  were  familiar  with. 
Looking  earnestly  at  the  fireplace  he  resumed:  *  'Yes, 
Providence  !  As  I  read  history  I  see  we  can  not  tell 
in  advance  what  God's  plans  about  any  nation  are. 
We  can  only  find  out  by  seeing  what  the  result  finally 
is  when  it  is  all  over.  All  we  have  to  do  is  to  do  the 
best  we  can  with  what  we  have,  and  trust  the  result 
to  God."  And  his  jaws  again  assumed  that  set  ex 
pression,  and  we  knew  what  was  his  iron  determina 
tion.  He  thanked  us  heartily  for  coming  to  tell  him 
what  the  people  thought  * '  at  home. ' '  And  so  we 
parted. 

This  was  the  last  time  I  saw  him  alive.  When 
he  was  in  his  coffin,  Mrs.  Emerson  and  I  sat  for  a  long 
time  gazing  at  his  countenance.  The  deep  lines  pro 
duced  by  anxious  thought  were  still  there.  But  across 
each  line  was  written  very  plainly  :  ' '  The  peace  of 
God  has  settled  on  his  quiet  spirit." 

It  was  a  marked  contrast  to  the  time  when  I  had 
last  seen  him.  The  dead  countenance  appeared  to 
say  that  he  had  died  with  the  consciousness  of  having 
done  his  best  and  that  he  was  satisfied  with  the 
result. 


Page  12 


cAbraham  Lincoln  and  Wait  Talcott 

WAIT  TALCOTT,  father  of  Mrs.  Ralph  Emer 
son,  was  a  member  of  the  Illinois  State  Senate 
at  the  time  when  Lincoln  first  ran  for  U.  S. 
Senator.  The  contest  was  very  long  and  severe,  and 
Mr.  Talcott  was  one  of  the  leaders  on  the  Lincoln  side. 
But  there  were  a  few  members  of  the  House  who 
refused  to  vote  for  Lincoln,  and  it  was  impossible 
quite  to  secure  a  majority.  When  the  legislature  was 
nearly  wearied  out  one  day  a  conference  took  place 
in  the  back  part  of  the  hall,  where  the  legislature 
met  between  Lincoln,  Logan  and  others  of  the  Repup- 
lican  leaders  when  it  was  agreed  that  Lyman  Trumbull 
should  be  elected  Senator  in  place  of  Lincoln,  which 
was  done.  But  the  friendship  which  had  grown  very 
strong  between  Lincoln  and  Wait  Talcott  continued 
to  the  former's  death. 

When  Lincoln  was  a  candidate  for  President  we 
were  all  anxious  to  have  him  secure  all  the  votes  he 
consistently  could. 

In  a  conversation  between  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Mr. 
Talcott,  just  before  the  election,  Mr.  Lincoln  called 
Mr.  Talcott  to  one  side  and  said  : 

' '  I  know  you  Talcotts  are  all  strong  abolitionists, 
and  while  I  have  had  to  be  very  careful  in  what  I  said 
I  want  you  to  understand  that  your  opinions  and 
wishes  have  produced  a  much  stronger  impression  on 
my  mind  than  you  may  think. " 

In  the  turmoil  of  politics,  at  the  time  Lincoln  was 
elected  President,  Mr.  Talcott  had  favored  some  course 
which  produced  coldness  between  him  and  the 

Page  13 


Honorable  E.  B.  Washburn,  who  was  then  a  leading 
Republican  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
and  represented  this  district. 

When  the  internal  revenue  law  was  passed  Mr. 
Washburn  found  out  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  intending 
to  give  Mr.  Talcott  an  appointment  under  it,  and  op 
posed  the  appointment.  Of  all  of  this  Mr.  Talcott 
knew  nothing  till  one  day  he  received  by  mail  a  letter 
signed  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  an  exact  fac-simile  of  which 
is  reproduced  on  the  following  page.  Note  the  close 
handwriting  of  Mr.  Lincoln. 

This  letter  shows  the  earnest  friendship  Mr.  Lin 
coln  had  for  both  parties,  and  his  earnest  desire  that 
they  should  work  together  with  him  for  the  common 
good. 

The  Hon.  Wait  Talcott  was  one  of  the  organizers 
of  the  old  Free  Soil,  or  as  it  was  called  at  one  time  the 
Free-Democratic  party.  He  was  also  a  conductor  on 
the  underground  railroad,  traveled  over  by  slaves  flee 
ing  from  Missouri  to  Canada. 


Page  14 


(Btttntibt  ghnsita, 


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Page  15 


i2jik!^ 

$nsibent  of  (fee  initeo  States  of  America, 

TO  ALL  TO  WHOM  THESE  PRESENTS  SHALL  COME,  GREETING 


I   DO  APPOINT  HIM  .   <e*6rt~>  / 


Page  1G 


^Abraham  Lincoln's  Gettysburg  Address 

Delivered  at  the  Dedication  if  the  National  Cemetery 
November  19,  1863 

FOUR  score  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers 
brought  forth  upon  this  continent  a  new  nation, 
conceived  in  liberty,  and  dedicated  to  the  pro 
position  that  all  men  are  created  equal. 

Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  civil  war  testing 
whether  that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived  and 
so  dedicated,  can  long  endure. 

We  are  met  on  a  great  battlefield  of  that  war. 
We  have  come  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field  as 
the  final  resting  place  for  those  who  here  gave  their 
lives  that  that  nation  might  live. 

It  is  altogether  fitting  and  proper  that  we  should 
do  this. 

But,  in  a  larger  sense,  we  cannot  dedicate— we 
cannot  consecrate— we  cannot  hallow— this  ground. 

The  brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled 
here,  have  consecrated  it  far  above  our  poor  power  to 
add  or  detract. 

The  world  will  little  note,  nor  long  remember, 
what  we  say  here ;  but  it  can  never  forget  what  they 
did  here. 

It  is  for  us,  the  living,  rather  to  be  dedicated 
here  to  the  unfinished  work  which  they  who  fought 
here  have  thus  far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is  rather 
for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task  remain 
ing  before  us— that  from  these  honored  dead  we  take 
increased  devotion  to  that  cause  for  which  they  gave 
the  last  full  measure  of  devotion;  that  we  here  highly 
resolve  that  these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain  ; 
that  this  nation  under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of 
freedom,  and  that  government  of  the  people,  by  the 
people,  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth. 

Page  17 


Chronology"  gf  Lincoln's  Life 


1806 — Marriage  of  Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy  Hanks,  June  12, 

Washington  County,  Kentucky. 

1809— Born  Feb.  12,  Hardin  (now  La  Rue)  County,  Kentucky. 
1816— Family  removed  to  Perry  County,  Indiana. 
1818— Death  of  Abraham's  mother,  Nancy  Hanks  Lincoln. 
1819— Second  marriage  of  Thomas  Lincoln;  married  Sally  Bush 

Johnson,  Dec.  2,  at  Elizabethtown,  Kentucky. 
1830 — Lincoln   family   removed  to   Illinois,    locating  in  Macon 

County. 

1831— Abraham  located  at  New  Salem. 
1832— Abraham  a  Captain  in  the  Black  Hawk  War. 
1833— Appointed  postmaster  at  New  Salem. 
1834— Abraham  a  Surveyor.     First  election  to  the  Legislature. 
1835— Love  romance  with  Anne  Rutledge. 
1836— Second  election  to  the  Legislature. 
1837— Licensed  to  practice  law. 
1838-Third  election  to  the  Legislature. 
1840— Presidential  Elector  on  Harrison  ticket.     Fourth  election 

to  the  Legislature. 
1842— Married  Nov.    4   to   Mary   Todd.     "Duel"  with  General 

Shields. 

1843 -Birth  of  Robert  Todd  Lincoln,  Aug.  1. 
1846— Elected  to   Congress.     Birth   of  Edward  Baker  Lincoln, 

March  10. 

1848— Delegate  to  the  Philadelphia  National  Convention. 
1850— Birth  of  William  Wallace  Lincoln,  Dec.  2. 
1853— Birth  of  Thomas  Lincoln,  April  4. 
1856— Assists  in  formation  of  Republican  party. 
1858-Joint  debate  with  Stephen  A.  Bouglas.     Defeated  for  the 

United  States  Senate. 

1860— Nominated  and  elected  to  the  Presidency. 
1861— Inaugurated  as  President,  March  4. 
1863 — Issued  Emancipation  Proclamation. 
1864— Re-elected  to  the  Presidency. 
1865-Assassinated  by  J.  Wilkes  Booth,   April  14.     Died  April 

15.     Remains  interred  at  Springfield,  111.,  May  4. 


Page  18 


Designed  and  Executed  at  the  Shop  if 
WILSON  BROTHERS  COMPANY,  PRINTERS 
"STe  Quality  Shop  Rock  ford,  Illinois 


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